Self-lighting cigarette



June 10,- 1930. H. LEON ET AL SELF LIGHTING CIGARETTE Filed March 15, 1929 INVENTORS:

ATTORNEY.

WITN ESSESZ Patented June 10, 1930 UNITED STATES PATEN'Ii OFFICE,

HERMON LEON AND JACK WOLF LEON, OF ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY SELF-LIGHTING CIGARETTE Application filed March 15, 1929. Serial No. 347,364.

This invention relates to self lighting cigarettes and the like and is an improvement on the invention disclosed in our pending application serially numbered 229,441, dated December 28th, 1927.

In said application igniting means for the tobacco or smoking material of cigarettes are provided which include inflammable material placed in contact with the tobacco,

' and, also in contact with a cigarette, an igniting substance, so that when the latter is drawn from the cigarette against the inflammable material, flame is produced to light the cigarette.

As the inflammable .and igniting materials are, in such an arrangement, in mutual contact, we find it desirable to place these materials in spaced relation with each other, so that initial contact is not efiected until the igniting substance is operated for igniting purposes.

The primary object of the invention is therefore the provision of a lighting unit for cigars, cigarettes or other smoking rolls in which the inflammable and igniting elements are spaced apart, so that a cigarette carrying the lighting unit may be manipulated freely or carried in any'ordinary manner without danger of accidental ignition.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the tobacco or smoking material of a cigarette for forcing at the proper time theigniting substance, which is carried on a flexible strip, into positivecontact with the inflammable material, the latter being em bedded in the tobacco, when the strip is drawn from the cigarette to light the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide an igniting unit of the class described with a manipulating tab which is at all times easily accessible. The unit may be mounted about the center of the end disk applied to the cigarette, with the tab projecting part of the way to the outer edge of the disk, thereby providing a compact and serviceable self lighting cigarette.

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in certain novel construction and combination and arrangement of parts, the essential features of which are hereinafter fully described, are particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figurel is a perspective view of a cigarette having my improved igniting unit at tached thereto.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of one end of the cigarette shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the same end on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of an attaching strip carrying the inflammable element.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a strip carrying the igniting element.

Figure 6 is a view showing a method of withdrawing the igniting element to light the smoking article.

In the particular embodiment of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a complete cigarette with an igniting unit A, the latter comprising an attaching strip 11 of paper or other suitable material, the respective tapered ends 12 of which are attached by an adhesive to the opposite sides of the outer Wrapping of the cigarette at one of the ends thereof.

We find it advantageous to construct the combustible element 13 of a substance having potassium chloride as a base and which is mounted on one side of the strip 11. The element 13 is substantially triangular in cross section with its apex 14 embedded in the tobacco 15. At one of its ends 16 a flexible strip 17, which may be of any appropriate material, carries the igniting substance 18, while the other end of said strip forms a manipulating tab 19.

I Before inserting the element 13 in the material 15 the strip 17 is placed in the required position with the igniting friction material 18 on the exterior of the bridge portion 20 of the strip 11, the tab 19 over lapping the end 16, thereby positioning said material 18 in spaced relation with the combustible element 13. The material used in the respective combustible and igniting ele ments may be the same as those detailed in my said pending application. The phos- I phorus is adhesively secured to the strip and the outer particles remain free thereon.

It will be seen on inspection of the drawings, that the tab 19 is easily accessible as it extends beyond the side of the cigarette, and that even when the tab becomes lodged against the tobacco 15, as may be the case when packed, said tab is still easy to seize and operate. The inner part of the tab 19 is adhesively secured at 17' to the end 16 to normally hold the same flat adjacent the end of the cigarette. Before drawing the strip 17 to light the cigarette, the ends 16 and 19 may be partly straightened out by breaking the adhesive bond, as shown. in Figure 6, to facilitate removal of said stri As the latter moves past the combustib e element 13 ignition is readily effected, partly because of the pressure maintained by the tobacco 15 on the moving strip. Removal of this strip places the i ited element 13 in direct contact with sai material.

In this manner a safe and novel means for lighting inflammable material is provided, since the latter material is preserved free from the substance 18 until removal of the strip 17 hasbeen started. Withdrawal of this strip may be by a quick and jerky .same on some convenient movement, or withdrawal may be effected gradually, as becomes apparent by viewing Figure 6 of the drawings.

It is customary among smokers before lighting a cigarette to ta one end of the at object to artly remove the smoking material 15 om the opposite end. This custom has the additional useful effect, with a cigarette having my igniting unit A thereof, on compressing the material 15 against the edge 14 to further facilitate ignition.

Cigarettes of this ln'nd may be put up in the usual packagesor cases, and, in order to utilize existing forms for constructing these cases or containers, cigarettes of slightly less 'lon itudinal'dimension may be manufactured, since the unit A may project slightly beyond the end '21, as illustrated, 1n order that the length of the cigarette 10 with said unit attached thereto may be indentical with that of a cigarette as heretofore manufactured. The lighting unit may be more deeply embedded in a ci arette than in the article 10 illustrate thereby bringing about the same result, without departing from the invention.

While we have described what we deem to be the most desirable embodiment of our invention, it is obvious that many of the details may be varied without in any way departin from the s irit of our invention; and we esire it to' understood that we may make changes in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Whatis claimed as new is 1. In an igniting unit for a cigarette comprising a combustible element projecting into the body of a cigarette, a flexible strip wound about said element, and a friction substance on said strip for frictional contact with said combustible element when pulled from a wound condition.

2. In an igniting unit for a cigarette comprising a combustible element partly pro ecting into the body of a cigarette, supporting means for said element, a flexible manipulable strip wound about said element and havin a central portion interposed between said element and said material, and afriction substance provided on strip, with the other terminal left free to be manually pulled.

. 4. In an igniting unit for a cigarette having compressed smoking material therein, a strip attached to one end of the cigarette and brid ing the same, a triangular shaped combusti le element on the inner face of saidstri the apex of said triangular shaped element projecting into said smoking material, and a flexible strip having a portion interposed between said element and said smoking material, one terminal on said flexible strip being provided with a friction substance and being removably seated on the outer surface of said first strip, while the other end of said flexible strip is free, so that when said latter end is operated to withdraw said friction substance the same is urged-b said smoking material against the apex 0 said combustible element to ignite the latter for lighting said smoking material.

5. In combination with a cigarette, a strip bridging one end of said cigarette and fixedly secured thereto, a combustible substance rovided on one side of said strip and embeddbd in the tobacco body of said ci arette, a flexible pull strip, an igniting substance provided on one side and at one end of said pull strip said pull strip being wound about said first strip with the igniting substance disposed against the exterior side of said first strip out of contact with our signatures,

HERMQN LEKEN. JACK WQLF LEUNH 

